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Rivero, Skole star in Double-A Harrisburg's win

2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: Felipe Rivero has a very intriguing blend of stuff and a feel for pitching with plenty of raw tools

By Teddy Cahill
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MLB.com |

Left-hander Felipe Rivero threw six scoreless innings and infielder Matt Skole scored or drove in all five runs Monday for Double-A Harrisburg, leading the Senators to a 5-3 victory at New Hampshire.

Rivero, the Nationals' No. 17 prospect, struck out five batters, walked none and held the Fisher Cats to three hits. It was his second straight scoreless start and extended his shutout streak to 12 innings.

Skole, the Nationals' No. 6 prospect, saw to it that Rivero had plenty of run support. He went 3-for-4 with a walk and a home run. He scored three times and drove in three runs.

After scoring lone runs in the second and fourth innings, Skole gave Harrisburg breathing room with a three-run home run in the fifth inning. By that time, Rivero was in a groove. He needed just 63 pitches to get through his longest start of the season.

With the victory, Rivero improved to 2-6 with a 4.38 ERA for the Senators this season. He has struck out 30 batters and walked 16 in 39 innings. An arm injury forced him onto the disabled list for three months earlier this season and has limited him to nine starts at Double-A.

After missing almost all of last year with his own injury problems, Skole has stayed healthy this season. In 125 games for the Senators, the 25-year old is hitting .242/.352/.392 with 12 home runs.

While Skole has mostly played first base this season, he spent the early part of his career as a third baseman and has not completely given the position up. He played third base Monday, his 27th game at the position this season. He also committed an error, his seventh as a third baseman, compared with eight in 94 games at first base.

Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.